Whisper Rock Golf Club: Lower Course

Scottsdale, AZ Private

Overview

Phil Mickelson wanted his course design debut to be something different than the typical Scottsdale desert layout, so he had some fairways recessed into the landscape to create elevation change, kept tee boxes flush with the ground and built mostly long, narrow greens edged by chipping hollows. Mickelson calls them “Pinehurst greens.” Bunkers are surprisingly shallow and fairways are uniformly wide, because he dislikes holes that bottleneck down for big hitters. There’s plenty of grass in which to play, and a surprising number of trees on the layout, including palo verde, juniper and mesquite. Phil considers his design to be a second-shot course, “and we don’t have the same second shot two times in a row,” he says. One second shot, on the par-5 third, must contend with a “ha ha wall,” a three-foot-high ledge of stacked rock that edges the putting surface. That’s definitely different than anything in Scottsdale.

About

Holes 18
Length 7359
Slope 147
Facility Type Private
Year Opened 2001
Designer Gary Stephenson/Phil Mickelson

Awards

100 Greatest the Second 100
Best Courses in Every State

Ranking history:

Second 100 Greatest: Ranked from 2013-'22, 2023-'24.
2023-'24 ranking: No. 174.
Highest ranking: No. 167, 2013-'14.

Best in State: Ranked fourth, 2023-'24. Ranked fifth, 2017-'22. Ranked sixth, 2013-'16. Ranked inside the top 10, 2003-'05. Ranked 12th, 2011-'12. Ranked inside the top 15, 2007-'10.
2023-'24 ranking: 4th.

Panelists

Ratings from our panel of 1,900 course-ranking panelists

4.5

100 GREATEST/BEST IN STATE SCORES

Shot Options
7.2352
Character
7.6301
Challenge
7.3201
Layout Variety
7.1703
Fun
7.2883
Aesthetics
7.3339
Conditioning
7.7007

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